What's the point?

[Gardenbahner]

Yesterday a hugemungous box arrived from Modell-Land in Germany. On it's end it is the size of a washing machine.


Inside were 4 more large boxes.


And inside each box was one of these.



A Trainline45 R2 (900mm) point. They could have got at least 2 in each white box! So 90% of the big box was filler and air!

 

[Gardenbahner]

So what are they for you may be asking? Well some of you may have seen my thread a few weeks back where I re-ballasted all my track. Well now it's all coming up again for major engineering and realignment work. Namely the removal of four R1 points to be replaced with the above.

Up until recently I was running typical G scale rolling stock with chunky wheels and wiggly axles. So the R1's rarely caused any major problems. Now I've switched to running 16mm stock with tiny wheels and rigid axles and the pointwork is causing constant derailments.

LGB R3's would have solved the problem but would never fit in the space available. So after taking measurements and using track planning software (Anyrail) I found that Trainline points would fit within the same footprint.

 

[JimmyB]

LGB R3's would have solved the problem but would never fit in the space available. So after taking measurements and using track planning software (Anyrail) I found that Trainline points would fit within the same footprint.

Well nearly, I removed my R1s last week, but but did a complete re-configure.

 

[Gardenbahner]

The Trainline 45 points now come with brass rail clamps instead of joiners which made the job much easier especially in tight spaces. After a few hours of pushing and pulling I managed to get everything in place. Luckily G scale track is quite forgiving to any irregularities. But I did have to move the whole inner loop nearer to the outer one as the distance between the tracks is less than standard. And the two sidings also had to be moved.

 

[JimmyB]

nicely done

 

[Gardenbahner]

Here is video of a train of mixed stock with different wheels and couplings reversing through the crossover. This would have been completely impossible before. Sucesss

DSCF0016 by Eric Williams, on Flickr

 

[Rhinochugger]

Here is a train of mixed stock with different wheels and couplings reversing through the crossover. This would have been completely impossible before. Sucesss

(Well there will be when I work out how to do it.)

How do I post a video from Flickr?

Probably better running than with R3s anyway - I have a personal hatred of LGBs R3 point.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

That extra 1 foot in radius/curvature in switches makes all the difference.

Greg

 

[Gardenbahner]

That extra 1 foot in radius/curvature in switches makes all the difference.

Greg

Yes, and the LGB R1 curve arc is 30 degrees. The Trainline is only 22.5 degrees. Makes a big difference on the crossover.

 

[ge_rik]

Great result! Trainline R2s are a good solution where space is tight.

Rik

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Aren't Trainline R2 switches the same as LGB R1, i.e. approximately 2' radius, 4' diameter?

Greg

 

[idlemarvel]

The smallest Trainline switches are 90cm radius according to their website
Train Line Gartenbahnen GmbH

 

[Greg Elmassian]

See post 10.... then see post 11 looking for answer.

 

[Rhinochugger]

See post 10.... then see post 11 looking for answer.

Pretty certain their R2 is 1200mm radius

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Ahh... confusion... Train-Li in the USA sells TrainLine.... sometimes... they said they were, but now I see they are not...

Indeed the Trainline 45 site does say their R2 switches are indeed 90 cm radius...

Train-Li has a different numbering system as well as Piko... they should all be slapped silly for using / ruining LGB's "R" system....

Greg

 

[Rhinochugger]

Ahh... confusion... Train-Li in the USA sells TrainLine.... sometimes... they said they were, but now I see they are not...

Indeed the Trainline 45 site does say their R2 switches are indeed 90 cm radius...

Train-Li has a different numbering system as well as Piko... they should all be slapped silly for using / ruining LGB's "R" system....

Greg

I couldn't find the numbering system - just that they make two radii; 90cm & 120cm

 

[Greg Elmassian]

material:	brass
radius:	90cm (R2)
length:	37,5 cm
Brench:	left 22,5°
centerpiece:	polarized

Notice the (r2) after the radius?

Weiche links 90cm , ohne Antrieb

Unsere Weiche ist aufgebaut aus einem Messingprofil, das auf einem Kunststoffgleisbett montiert ist. Das Herzstück, welches aus einem massivem…

www.train-line45.de

The 120 cm radius is likewise as R3

Greg

 

[Paradise]

Train-li in the USA do still sell them but they are called ProSwitch.

LGB R2 is 780mm radius. The TrainLine45 is 900mm radius otherwise known as the ProSwitch R3 from Train-li USA, although a bit wider works nicely for LGB R2.
TrainLine45, ProSwitch, Piko and LGB all use different 'R' naming systems for radius so it can be confusing. Train-li ProSwitch 'R' name is very close to the nearest foot so makes the best sense.
A TrainLine R3 1200mm ( ProSwitch R4) point is much the same as an LGB R3 point at 119.5mm radius. A Piko R5 point is only a little wider at 124mm radius.
The TrainLine45 900mm point is the best thing that ever happened to small radius G. They look so much better and only a little longer.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

OK, I get it now, you are saying the TrainLine45 900mm radius switch is measurable better than the LGB 778mm radius switch.

Fills a "gap" between the LGB R2 and R3 switches.

Sorry I took so long to "get it"..

Greg

 

[Paradise]

Greg, there is no LGB R2 point (switch) except on their 3 way one but yeah, it fills the gap between LGB R1/R2 and LGB R3.
The R numbers are nuts. Especially when there are two different R naming systems between two distributors of the exact same product TrainLine45 and Train-li.
I'm just going to refer to TrainLine45 points by radius for now on to help preserve some sanity.